Home Improvement Insurance Coverage

Kanthri

Hi,

We will be starting some home improvement works, including extension to the property.

If any damage caused by the builder to the property (e.g. when installing new beams, walls or first floor comes down!), I am assuming it wont be covered by the standard building insurance.

So, what sort of insurance coverage I should purchase? Or, what sort of insurance coverages I should look in builders insurances?

thank you.

CliveOfIndia

Kanthri said:

So, what sort of insurance coverage I should purchase?

If you Google for "Renovation Insurance" you'll find dozens of companies.  It's not an uncommon requirement.

Yes, it's a good idea to check that your builders have third-party liability insurance, but for your own peace of mind it's probably worth looking into your own renovation insurance as well, just to be on the safe side.

DullGreyGuy

Public Liability will cover them if, for example, they slip when drilling a hole and bust a pipe - so physical damage caused by them basically

Professional Indemnity will cover them for bad advice so were they to design a unit for you and say the Xm2 of unique tiles you've got is sufficient, build it, stick on the last tile and realise its only covered 20% of the unit and no more tiles are available then this is what would cover the bad advice. Wouldn't think your average builder will have it but certainly your architect, structural engineer etc will. 

Contract Works/All Risks - some contracts will make their work their problem until its finished so contract works covers fire, flood etc to the partially built structure until is signed off. If your contract with them doesn't make them liable then this is irrelevant. 

Employers Liability - if they have staff or time only subcontractors, covers the builder for liability towards staff and pseudo staff in the course of their work.



for yourself you need Renovations Home Insurance but speak to your current insurers before buying anything else. There is wide variance of what is acceptable under standard home cover. Structural work normally isn't but there are some that will, some define it as a percentage of the property's rebuild cost to determine if it needs declaration or not. 

Albermarle

I had a full loft conversion, and at a separate time the back of the house removed and rebuilt. In both cases I just informed our building insurer, and they just said thanks for telling us and please inform us when it is finished. No extra charge.

Slinky

Albermarle said:

I had a full loft conversion, and at a separate time the back of the house removed and rebuilt. In both cases I just informed our building insurer, and they just said thanks for telling us and please inform us when it is finished. No extra charge.

Our insurers didn't want to continue with our insurance when I informed them of our building works; had to find another insurer.

FreeBear

DullGreyGuy said: Contract Works/All Risks - some contracts will make their work their problem until its finished so contract works covers fire, flood etc to the partially built structure until is signed off. If your contract with them doesn't make them liable then this is irrelevant.

Hope this lot had the appropriate insurance in place....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNRiaXVRBgU

ic

I had the roof rebuilt taller so that it could include dormer rooms as well as had the existing extension demolished and rebuilt, along with lots of internal adjustments removing walls and adding doorways. It took five months to complete.

My existing home insurer wouldn't cover it, so we had to arrange new cover to take over when the build started.  The new cover was double the cost of the old.  You need to speak to your insurer and tell them about the work to see what they will or won't cover. 

A big part of mine was having to show proof of the contract and give details of the builder's insurance cover.  Any builder should be happy to establish a proper contract (we had a JCT minor works contract) and they should be happy to provide you full details of their insurance cover.  My insurance was arranged through Towergate Insurance.

casper_gutman

Albermarle said:

I had a full loft conversion, and at a separate time the back of the house removed and rebuilt. In both cases I just informed our building insurer, and they just said thanks for telling us and please inform us when it is finished. No extra charge.

Our building insurer said similar when we told then about our extension and remodelling works. They also said that any issues arising from the in-progress works wouldn't be covered. Make sure you read and understand any and all information the insurer gives you, as well as what insurances the builders have in place. You may well need some supplementary coverage to give you complete peace of mind.